


Catra Alone

by Polythropos



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Adora's not really in this fic, Avatar! Adora, But with Catra, Catra (She-Ra) Needs a Hug, Catra (She-Ra)-centric, Drowning, F/F, Firebender! Catra, It's Zuko Alone, No beta I die with honorrr, Not really Catradora but probably somewhere down the line, Shadow Weaver Sucks, Shadow Weaver lies, What's new, avatar AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-12
Updated: 2020-06-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:08:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24689641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Polythropos/pseuds/Polythropos
Summary: Avatar AU.After an abrupt separation from Scorpia, Catra finds herself wandering into a village. Maybe she'll find out just who she is on the way.
Relationships: Adora & Catra (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 63





	Catra Alone

“Let’s go! They said,” Catra grumbled as she rode on her stolen ostrich horse, “Nothing could go wrong! They said.”

Obviously, something did go wrong. After their repeated attempts to capture Adora had failed, Scorpia had decided to do some questionable things such as taking a break. Obviously there was no such thing as a break! They were in the middle of a war! Of course somehow she got separated from the group and had to resort to stealing an ostrich horse.

She sighed as she let go of the reins with her right hand and adjusted her conical hat so that the shade would cover her eyes better. The shade would help her get a better look at everything. Not that she needed to, the barren landscape consisted of nothing but sand, sand, and more sand. At least the shade would hide her heterochromia. She was notorious among the lands with two eye colors.

Scorpia had told her that she had heard of tales of a warrior with the eyes of lightning and fire that came like a storm and laid the land asunder. Before- Before Catra had departed from them. She needed to do this alone. Needed time for herself, to think things through.

Catra liked the sound of that. Maybe she could take out Ba Sing Se one day. It would no doubt be the victory that would make her the undisputed General of the Fire Nation. She could just imagine the look on General Weaver’s face as she brought the Fire Nation to its biggest victory. But future conquests were only a sick dream to pursue in this desert land. She still needed to find a way to her squad, somewhere miles away.

The sweltering heat of the sun bore into her, it was even hotter with her dark stuffy hair and its atrocious length. Maybe she would cut it. However, the sign of short hair was a sign of weakness. While she couldn’t care less about what her hair looked like, she’d rather not be perceived as anything weak.

After walking a while Catra came upon a decrepit bridge over a ravine. Wiping the sweat from her face, she gently guided her steed across the bridge stumbling a bit as a chunk of the bridge fell off. Her ostrich horse panicked and tore across the bridge, obviously distressed and wildly bucking around.

Catra cursed as she was thrown off balance and her shoulder collided with the burning grains of sand. She spat out a bunch of sand and growled, “Useless horse!” With a punch at the sand below her, her fists let out sparks of fire as she struck out to the sky, channeling her anger. Tempted to strike out with lightning, Catra readied her stance as she stood up and moved her hands in a circular motion. With a deep breath she felt the energies inside herself separating. Yin and Yan flowed through her arms before she smashed both energies into each other, producing bouts of blue lightning that zapped at the sky from her finger tips.

Her spooked horse stared at the lightning in amazement before running away. Catra sighed as she gave chase to the blasted animal. She didn’t even know why she bothered to use so much energy for that horse. She didn’t know why she lashed out with her lightning technique, using up a chunk of her energy in the process. Maybe she was just being reckless again, the same thing that got her into this mess in the first place.

When she finally calmed the horse down enough to get back on, she was tired, sweaty, exhausted, and hungry. Her stomach rumbled greedily as she kept going on her way towards her destination. It didn’t help that the enticing scent of cooked flesh found itself inside her nostrils, making her even hungrier than before.

With a deft motion, Catra unsheathed her dual swords and stared down at the couple below her with their campfire, tent and food. The two were easy enough to bully into giving her what she wanted. They obviously didn’t look like soldiers and even if they were, Catra could probably take them on.

The man was laughing and Catra snarled at their happiness, feeling a pang in her heart as she remembered the last time she laughed like that. The woman giggled and sat still, patting her overly large stomach and accepting the food the man gave her. Catra stared at the overly fond sight, pulling her ostrich horse to a stop.

The woman was probably pregnant and they obviously had enough food to share between the two of them. Still, Catra hesitated as she returned her dual blades into the sheath. To steal their food was too easy. It was also too low.

_Nothing’s too low for me._

Catra turned around and willed her stomach to stop growling. She gently urged her ostrich horse onward. There was nothing to do here. So with an empty belly, a heavy heart, and a grimace, she left the happy couple and continued on her way.

After a while of nothing but sorrowful regret at having nothing to eat and a raspy throat, Catra finally fumbled for her water pouch, downing the last sip of water like it was sent from the great Agni itself. The blurry lines of the bland land distorted her sight and she took a moment to regain her composure, squeezing her eyes tight and trying to keep herself from fainting.

Maintaining consciousness was like trying to run up an uphill slope at this point, she was helpless to her aching muscles and throbbing head as she soldiered on out of pure willpower. Shaking herself awake, she tried to physically force consciousness on herself only to be struck with another throb of pain.

Blonde hair, warm blue eyes, and a happy smile flooded her senses before the wave of loneliness crashed into her yet again.

 _Adora._

Even in a vast wasteland of sand, her eldest friend still haunted her thoughts through the back of her mind. Catra’s eyes darted around, reminding herself that there was no one around before succumbing to her traitorous thoughts and memories. They were young and foolish cadets in the army. Sneaking off to the highest place they could climb to and just watching the sky, eager to see if they could find the legendary comet that inspired great hope in the Fire Nation.

Blonde hair, cold icy eyes, and a permanent frown snapped her out of her musings. A back turned on her as she marched off towards a new destiny with two kids she’s only met for a day. Never once looking back as she headed for salvation from the Fire Nation’s cruelties and leaving her past life behind her. Even in the depths of her most precious memories, her sworn enemy could still destroy the echoes of happiness Catra foolishly, _desperately_ hung onto.

_The Avatar._

She straightened her posture and urged her horse to go faster. They could make it to the next town at least, she knew her limits. From all the punishments that General Weaver had given her, she could keep going for another three days in sweltering heat and a lack of nourishment. But that didn’t mean she wanted to.

The town really isn’t much. The buildings are wooden, and therefore flammable. A simple swish of her wrist and the whole town could crumble to the ground, devoured by her greedy flames. It would be pathetically easy to take the town down. She noticed a group of well-dressed men gambling behind her. It would also be easy to swindle them out of their money.

Swindling them of money would at least sustain her spirits for a while.

She straightened her clothes and made sure her hat covered her eyes as she walked towards the men with a fake smile and practised politeness. “Hey, gentlemen. What are the stakes? Could I join the game?”

The men stared at her with frowns on their faces, “You? Ha!” All of them burst out laughing and Catra barely contained her anger from lashing out and burning the whole town down. It wouldn’t be the first time she did that, after all.

She eyed the pouches of coins and smirked inwardly, all she needed was a distraction. “Well, I suppose I don’t really know how to play. Who’s the best in the game?”

The big one smirked, “Obviously me!” The others gasped and argued, each claiming they were better than the other. Catra rolled her eyes, they were too easy. She snatched the pouch of money with practiced ease before walking away to a safer distance, doubling over a few places to get further away. Though, she doubted they would blame her.

Arriving to a merchant’s store, she placed her order in, “Can I get a bag of feed, water, and something hot to eat?”

The merchant frowned, “Do you have the money to buy it with?”

Catra scoffed, offering 4 coins, “Is this enough?” The coins were some of the stolen ones. She literally had no money, and 4 coins would have to be enough.

The merchant wrinkled his nose, “No, your order is 10 coins at least.”

Catra shrugged, playing it off as nonchalant, “10 coins for a bag of feed and food? Do you think I don’t know what the price is for these things around here? Are you calling me dumb?” Hook. 

The merchant gulped in fear, “Ah-Uh, no, sir!” Line.

Catra growled, “It’s actually ma’am.” She exposed an eye and gave him a chilling glare that she used to shut up the cadets. Sinker. It’s no wonder the Fire Nation only needed 12 years of fighting to conquer ¾ of the entire world from their island. With these idiots around, Catra was surprised they didn’t conquer them sooner.

“So-Sorry! Here, on the house!” The merchant offered, getting her some water and a bag of feed. “I don’t really have any food, but I’ve got another bag of feed if you’d like. Lemme get them. Really sorry about that, ma’am.”

Catra took the things and sighed loudly, “It’s alright.”

Then she turned around and went to her horse, noticing how four Earth Kingdom soldiers were looking at her. All of them had more fat than muscle, the thud of their gait made it clearer to her that she would be faster if they decided to cause trouble. She stared back and turned her back to them, they were insignificant.

There were two children beside her, giggling all the while as they threw an egg at the Earth Kingdom soldiers before darting away down the alley. Catra took note of that and continued to stand still, minding her own business. Internal turmoil, another weakness in the Earth Kingdom. The soldiers were obviously doing something wrong if the very people they protected were turning against them.

“Hey you!” A loud bark was heard from behind her, “Are you throwing eggs at us, stranger?”

“No.”

“You see who threw it?” The fat soldier asked. Catra turned around to face them a bit, showing off her blue eyes, “No.”

The fat soldier growled, clearly agitated at her. Catra only needed to add fuel to the fire a bit before they erupted. Then again, they were so dumb she hardly needed to do anything but step on their ego. Hubris was always the downfall of entitled idiots.

Sure enough, the soldier snarled, “Is that your favorite word, no?” His buddies nodded in agreement as they crossed their arms and huffed angrily, “Egg had to come from somewhere!”

Catra turned around, not even bothering to spare them a glance. “Maybe a chicken flew over,” Catra quipped, ignoring their laughs and indignant sputters.

Just then the merchant returned with a bag of feed, only for it to be taken by the Earth Kingdom soldier. The soldier glared at her, towering over her by at least two heads and exposing all of their vital organs. “Thanks for your contribution. The army appreciates your support.”

Catra mentally guffawed in her mind. Oh this was priceless! She just donated a bag of horse feed to the rivaling army! As if a bag of ostrich horse feed was gonna better their chances against the Fire Nation! She had half a mind to burn this village down in the name of the crown. See how they like it.

“Penalty for stayin’ is a lot more than you can afford, stranger.” He patted at the hilt of his hammer, “Trust me.”

She held back a sharp retort and turned away as the soldiers left. The merchant caught her eye and sighed, “Those hooligans! They say they’re protecting us from the Fire Nation, but they’re just a bunch of thugs.”

Catra chuckled dryly, “Well, I sure hope that bag of ostrich horse feed will help them stop the Fire Nation soldiers.”

The merchant laughed as she walked towards her ostrich horse and prepared to mount.

A small voice interrupted her, “Thank you for not ratting me out!” She looked down and saw one of the children from before. Catra ignored the child, she had better things to do. The child frowned behind the lone Fire Nation warrior before lightning up and taking control of her horse’s reigns. “Here, let me take you to my house! I can feed your horse and give you some food too! I owe you.”

Catra paused, some food did sound nice. The little child was too young to know how to betray her after all. Maybe she could just stop and enjoy this moment, pretend she was but a stranger in a strange land. Besides, the kid was growing on her. The kid obviously went along with her philosophy of ‘I scratch your back and you scratch mine’.

Soon the two of them approached a dirt road that led to a little wooden farmhouse that housed several different hybrids of pigs. Several different types of pigs greeted them at the exposure. “No one can ever sneak up on us,” the kid said proudly.

Catra admired that, “No kidding.” It was a pretty clever move to surround yourself by the animals that would alert you if any enemy was on the way. The wooden farmhouse was also easy to get in and out of, granted the animals trusted you. Maybe she should incorporate that into her next battle strategy. However, the moral issues of using citizens as a shield came up and she frowned at that. That was a low she had yet to be.

As the kid took the ostrich horse away, Catra glanced to her side to admire the pig-rooster. The pig-rooster crowed at her just as a man and woman entered the room cautiously. They were probably the kid’s parents. “You a friend of Sweet Bee?” the man asked.

Sweet Bee. Man, this kid’s name was cute.

Before Catra could say anything, Sweet Bee darted to her father and grabbed the man’s arm. “This guy stood up to the soldiers! By the end, they were practically running away.”

The woman frowned, “Does this guy have a name?”

Catra hesitated, does she take the gamble? Can she trust the family? No. She couldn’t. Did they know of her? She was a pretty popular commander, and several rumors of her were pretty common around the previous villages they had stumbled upon. “Well, um I’m-”

The man’s face softened, “It’s alright if you don’t want to say your name. Anyone who can hold their own against those soldiers is welcome here. Those men should be ashamed to wear Earth Kingdom uniforms!” He clearly had a grudge against those soldiers that had carried on to Sweet Bee.

Catra couldn’t believe it. These people trusted her! Her! A total stranger, didn’t even bother with her name? They were genuine people. And if there’s one thing that Catra respected above power, it was genuine people.

Genuine people, like Scorpia and Entrapta… Catra shook her head to perish the thought.

The woman sighed, “They aren’t even real soldiers. True soldiers are like Bee’s sister, Flutterina. She’s out there in the front lines, fighting the war.” She offered Catra a pained smile, “Supper’s almost ready, would you like to join us?”

Catra shook her head, “I can’t. I should be moving on.”

The woman shared a look with her husband before she grinned, “Going somewhere?”

Catra paused, fiddling with her hat strap. Where was she going? Towards Adora? Back to the Fire Nation? She didn’t even know where Scorpia was! So why was she so adamant to continue forward? Running away… She was running away again.

_Just like Adora._

But Catra didn’t say that, so instead she just shrugged and said, “You could say that.”

“Well, my husband could use some help with the barn, why don’t you go help him for a while before we eat?” the woman suggested, reading into the awkward atmosphere perfectly. Catra nodded mutely, taking off her conical hat and getting ready to make her way towards the barn.

The trek to the barn wasn’t that much worth mentioning, Catra nearly stepped on a pile of animal dung but besides that, nothing happened. No ambush, no stabbing in the back. There was nothing. She shouldn’t have expected anything and she was in the state of an ignorant peace. As long as they did not know who she was, she was safe. Which meant she needed to reel in her anger. 

_Easier said than done._

Still, it was either that or blow her cover and get stung by the sharp jab of rejection.

The man guided Catra along some of the steps as they fixed the roof. Catra tried her best, but re-shingling the roof was tough for her inexperienced hands. The architecture was nothing like it was back in the Horde. Of course, the basics for building were the same as ever so Catra focused on that as she tried not to bend the nails too hard. Breathing in through her nose, Catra let her chi go and relaxed the best she could. 

“You don’t seem like you’re around here,” Bee remarked as the kid rested on a nearby ladder, watching the older people work.

Catra shook her head as she carefully positioned a nail.

“Where are you from then?” Bee asked, naive child curiosity shining through in its ignorant bliss. Catra wondered if she ever had that same innocent guise before lowering her hammer to smack the nail into the shingle.

“Far away.” Where was Catra really from? She wasn’t purely Fire Nation, the children in the Horde made sure she knew that. Her tan skin was too tan, her right eye a bright blue like tropical waters. All of that screamed Water Tribe peasant, but that wasn’t right. She hated the water with a passion.

“Oh,” Bee said, prolonging the ‘oh’ as if to exaggerate a point, “Where are you going?”

Where was she going? Was she going back to the Fire Nation to command the troops with Lonnie, Kyle, and Rogelio? Was she going to fight the Avatar? Going to- To what?

The man sighed, “Bee, give it a rest, ok?” He wiped his forehead of sweat and glanced at Catra, who was gently tapping the nail into the roof with her hammer. “Stop asking her personal questions, okay?”

Bee sighed clearly disappointed at having been chastised by her father, nodding, “Okay.”

 _Finally._ Catra did not need to explain herself to a kid. She didn’t want to-

“So how come your eyes are different colors?” Bee asked after a short moment of silence.

Catra stiffened and lost focus as the hammer went down not on the nail, but her thumb.

“Yeowch!” Catra cried as she cradled her hand before slipping on a loose roof shingle and rolling off the roof and onto the earth with a hard crash.

“It’s not nice to bother people about things they might not want to talk about. A man’s past is his business.” The man continued on hammering and fixing up the roof.

Catra whimpered in pain at the sudden impact she had on the ground as she rolled, trying to even out the pain onto a bigger surface. When she finally felt the strength to get back up, she climbed the ladder and continued to help fix the roof to her best ability. 

* * *

_They were simple cadets in the Horde, an academy for future Fire Nation soldiers. It also served as an orphanage. Catra was six. Because she had survived six winters. Winters were especially hard to live through because winter is cold, or it used to be cold. Now, surrounded by the hearth, the only cold thing is fresh air. Adora was still her best friend, even at six years old._

_Catra doesn’t think much, but it’s the first time she knows that she’s different._

_It’s because a tall Horde Officer tells her so. Force Captain Octavia, to be exact._

_“Hey! Halfbreed brat!” Octavia cried out, “You gonna join your family in the jail cells? Don’t you know what we do to Water Tribe peasants?”_

_Catra didn’t know what to do, she was alone with none of those in her squad. And now this scary lady was yelling at her for something. She ducked behind a pillar and prayed to Agni that the scary lady would stop._

_Surprise! The scary lady did not. Octavia found her and roughly grabbed her by the scruff, showing off a bloodied steel dagger. “Oh, you know what we do to Water peasants? We slowly drain them of their beloved water, you know, cuts. Till they bleed dry, all of them bleed to death. And you know what? They look a lot like you, you know? Blue eyes, tan skin, I think you’re a Water peasant like them. Are you sure you’re a firebender?”_

_Catra was terrified and that was the moment, when Octavia pinned Catra against the wall so that Catra could see the bloodied battered bodies of the waterbenders, that she moved. Her hands erupted to flame as she scratched Octavia’s eyes with a feral scream of terror. When Octavia dropped her to the ground, Catra made a reach for the steel dagger that Octavia had and tried to scuffle as far away as possible. She only made it to when her back pressed against the cold steel doors of the prison cell. Her nails dug into the dagger self-consciously._

_One of the prisoners in the cell pushed her away, closer to Octavia. Catra spared one look at the dying waterbenders, looking at a set of bright blue eyes that seemed to drive daggers of hate into her before scampering away. Far away._

_The waterbenders didn’t want her. That much was clear. The firebenders didn’t either._

* * *

  
  


_They were older. Catra forgot how much the cold snow could bite her skin. The cadets were paying around in the courtyard. Adora was busy, Officer Weaver wanted to give her some extra lessons and improve her firebending. While Catra didn’t like that her friend was going to be stuck with Officer Weaver of all people, the evil officer let the rest of them have some time to play._

_Lonnie was smirking as she grabbed an apple from one of the courtyard’s trees and placed it on Kyle’s head. “I bet you can’t light this apple on fire!” Lonnie taunted Catra as she smirked._

_Rogelio straightened up, the normally quiet boy opening his mouth to say, “Wait-”_

_But it was too late, Catra huffed and with a set of motions, she sent a small stream of fire at the apple, making the apple catch on fire. Rogelio yelped, tackling Kyle into the nearby water fountain while Lonnie and Catra turned to each other and laughed._

_Lonnie grinned, slinging an arm over Catra’s shoulder, “Ha! Can’t believe you finally did it!”_

_Catra smirked, about to counter with something sly when Shadow Weaver walked into the courtyard with a scroll in hand. “Catra.” Catra gulped instead, sly remark forgotten as Shadow Weaver crossed her arm and tucked the scroll into one of the pockets in her robes. “Why are Kyle and Rogelio wet?”_

_Everybody stayed silent as Catra lowered her head guiltily._

_“The rest of you, dismissed.” Shadow Weaver commanded and the rest of the cadets shared worried glances. “Dismissed!” Shadow Weaver roared and the cadets gave Catra a guilty look before they scampered away._

_Catra felt like crying as Shadow Weaver berated her for her reckless behavior. That she was worthless. That she was useless and had to be punished accordingly. Catra didn’t even know how to feel as Shadow Weaver grabbed her by the scruff of her neck as she dunked Catra’s head under water._

_Under the Water._

_Catra made the mistake of trying to yell for help, she lost precious breath as the water flooded her senses. Everything stung until her lungs burned and she could only gulp down water, water, water but never air. She opened her eyes, resisting the sting of cold water. All she could see was a dark purple with spots dancing around her vision._

_Under the water._

_Her stomach heaved up and down, it flipped around uncomfortably as pure fear clung to her mind. She had never in her life felt so…_

_Helpless._

* * *

Night had fallen and Catra had settled into her spot in the hay. The strands of hay were far from comfortable, poking her in her sides if she twitched, but they were better than nothing and she soon fell defenseless to the lull of sleep. Until a noise woke her up. Light clumsy foot steps, a child. Sweet Bee. It went towards her left, where most of her stuff was. Including her weapons and money.

_What would it be?_

There was no telltale noise of coins jingling together but a sound of her sheathe leaving the hay was certainly heard. _Sweet Bee took my swords._

_For what?_

Catra waited a while before rolling onto her back and standing up, dusting her pants to get rid of some of the hay that clung to the fabric. She lumbered over to the left and armed herself with a dagger, the same steel dagger she had snatched all those years ago. Pulling her jacket over her muddied undershirt, she followed the sound of Sweet Bee’s footsteps, purposely lingering behind.

Catra had no plan to harm the kid. Only to watch. Sweet Bee wasn’t the enemy, just an innocent child from the losing side. 

She found herself following Sweet Bee to the sunflower garden. The kid was carrying around her blades like a maniac, slashing at the sunflower stalks and plunging her blades into the trunks of trees. Catra glanced at the kid’s grip on her sword hilts and immediately winced.

“You’re holding them wrong.”

Caught red handed, Sweet Bee stiffened and turned around slowly only to see Catra’s smirk as she held out a hand for her swords. Bashful and ashamed of being caught, Sweet Bee handed the swords over.

Catra gripped her swords and showed off a few moves in the moonlight, “Keep in mind that these are Dual Dao swords.” With a swish of her wrist, the two became one, “They are two halves of a single weapon. Don’t think of them as separate, ‘cause they’re not. They’re just two different parts of the same whole.”

With deft moves, Catra leapt in the air with practised ease as the blades danced around her, showing off her skill and aptitude. Guiding the blades in an easy arc, she cut off a few sunflower stalks with a smirk before handing them back to Sweet Bee. She made a ‘go on’ motion and watched Sweet Bee cut a few more sunflower stalks with more ease than before.

After destroying a few more sunflower stalks, Sweet Bee and Catra made their way towards the barn. It was still dark, so Catra felt safer with her eyes exposed. Sweet Bee didn’t mind her eyes anyways, so she let her shoulder relax. The silence spoke louder than any word as they both trudged the dirt road.

It was only broken by Sweet Bee’s naive reminiscing, “I think you’d like my sister, Flutterina. She used to show me stuff like this all the time.”

Catra stared off at the moon wistfully.

Morning came rather quickly as Catra got ready to depart again. She easily mounted her horse, bowing respectfully to the hospitable family as they saw her off.

The woman reached up and offered Catra a package, “Here, this ought to last you a few meals.” 

Catra took it with trembling hands, “Thank you, ma’am.” She grabbed the package gently before putting it into her bag with the rest of her stuff and raising her head, staring off into the distance where a giant cloud of kicked up sand was exposed.

The man grumbled, “What do you think they want?”

Catra’s hand nudged towards her swords absentmindedly, “Trouble.”

The Earth Kingdom soldiers from yesterday arrived. Catra glared at them under the shade of her conical hat. She didn’t like these bullies.

“What do you want now, Gow?” The man asked with a frown.

Gow gave them an ugly smirk, “Just thought that I should let you know that your son's battalion got captured.” Catra frowned, _that’s pretty low. And I know low._ He turned to the other soldier beside him, “You boys hear what the Fire Nation did with their last group of prisoners?”

Catra frowned. 

_Haunting dull blue eyes as blood seeped from their numerous wounds like rivers. The scent of iron lingering in the air, making it so dense that every breath in was like licking the blood off of the aching skin. With all the blood that they bled, surprising how much a person can really bleed. The pool of red liquid under them._

“Dressed 'em up in Fire Nation uniforms and put 'em on the front line unarmed, the way I heard it.” The soldier spat onto the ground in disgust as the family’s faces paled. “Then they just watched.”

Catra frowned. Did the Fire Nation have to use such cruel methods? They were winning the war, mass slaughter was not necessary. She didn’t want to be looped into the same category as these idiots. Maybe after she regained control in the military as a commander, she could show them the easiest ways to conquer without losing so many lives. 

If Hordak trusted her, of course.

“You watch your mouth!” An angry yell from the man brought Catra back from her thoughts.

The sick soldier stepped forward, to get closer to the angry man, but Catra stood between them. A silent wall between the two sides.

“Why bother rooting in the mud with these pigs?” With that last retort, the Earth Kingdom soldiers rode away, kicking up clouds of sand as they left.

Catra stood protectively in front of the hugging family as the soldiers disappeared. 

“What’s going to happen to my sister?” Sweet Bee asked.

“I’m going to the front. I’m going to find and to get Flutterina back,” the man said determinedly. The couple walked away, crying in their grief. Catra stared at the ground uncomfortably. She should be happy that the Fire Nation had advanced.

“When my dad goes…” Sweet Bee started after running up to her, “... will you stay?”

Catra stared at those hopeful eyes and shook her head, “No, I must move on.” _I need to figure out what to do from here. I need to figure out my next plan to take over Ba Sing Se, but without casualties. I need to prove myself that I can lead the Fire Nation to its victory._

She puffed up her head and took out a sheathed dagger, leaning down to give it to Sweet Bee. “Here, I want you to have this. Read the inscription.”

“Made in the Earth Kingdom.”

Catra rolled her eyes in annoyance, “The other one.”

“Never give up without a fight.”

With that, Catra rode off into the sun. Leaving the village behind her as she set her course for Ba Sing Se.

* * *

_“Wanna see what I took?” Catra asked a young Adora as they retreated to the darkness of their shared bunk._

_Adora curiously tilted her head, “What?”_

_Catra showed off the dagger proudly, “Look at it! It’s so sharp!”_

_Adora took the dagger and held it up, “It says ‘Never give up without a fight’.” Adora gave Catra a friendly nudge, “Guess it sure is yours, huh?”_

_Catra chuckled, “Yeah! Wanna play with it?”_

_Adora nodded, holding up the dagger and pretending to stab her friend on the side. “Aha! I have defeated you, evil Airbender!”_

_Catra frowned, disappointed at being the evil airbender before going along with it and toppling it over in a dramatic death scene as she flopped onto the bed. “Arghh! Noo!”_

_The two giggled into the night. Two friends, them against the world._

_Adora joined Catra and flopped onto the bed too, carefully tucking Catra’s dagger under the pillow. “I thought Shadow Weaver said you didn’t have any weapons!”_

_Catra smirked, “I took it! Besides, Shadow Weaver always lies.”_

_With that thought, soon Adora fell asleep, but Catra remained awake. The scent of blood, lifeless eyes, and the red nicked dagger haunted her still._

* * *

“Shadow Weaver always lies,” Catra repeated the mantra as she sprawled out onto the grass with her conical hat resting on her chest.

The noise of another ostrich horse was heard as she saw a carriage barreling towards her at an amazing speed. Catra immediately noticed the familiar face of the woman from inside the carriage. It was Sweet Bee’s mom!

“You have to help! It's Sweet Bee – the thugs from town came back as soon as my husband left. When they ordered us to give them food, Bee pulled a knife on them!” _Oh shoot. So that’s what she did._ “I don't even know where she got a knife! Then they took him away.” Sweet Bee’s mom started sobbing, “They told me if he's old enough to fight, he's old enough to join the army. I know we barely know you, but …”

Catra didn’t need to hear more. She was already up on her feet, conical hat perched on her head and ready to rumble. “I’ll get your daughter back.”

  
  


Catra darted into the town with righteous fury. The townspeople darted out of her way as soon as possible. Above them, a storm had arrived with gray clouds as they dimmed the lights. Catra’s chi started getting more agitated. With her two eyes, she saw that they had tied Bee up to a tower.

Her fists clenched as Catra jumped off her horse and straight for Sweet Bee, who upon seeing her called out, “There she is! I told you she’d come!”

Gow and the other Earth Kingdom soldiers approached her and she growled, unsheathing her swords. They faced each other, battle was inevitable. Catra stuck out her chin, “Let the kid go.”

The soldiers stood before her, separating her from Sweet Bee. Catra readied her stance. She would spare them.

Gow laughed before regaining his composure and smugly stood before her, “Who do you think you are, telling us what to do?”

Catra smirked back, swinging her dual swords with flawless ease. “I think I’m a better person than you,” Catra started, “but it doesn’t matter who I am. I know who you are.” She said like a beast that had finally caught her prey.

“You’re not soldiers; you’re bullies. Freeloaders, abusing your power over these people. You’re sick cowards messing with a family who has already lost their daughter to the war.” Catra stood straight and plunged her sword tip into the earth. Ready to stand her ground and fight.

Gow sputtered before turning to the other soldier beside him, “You gonna let this stranger bad mouth you?”

Catra laughed, “You gonna let him-” Catra nodded her chin towards Gow, “-tell you what to do? What are you? His dog?” Gow’s gang seemed to be taken aback, hesitating to fight her.

Then the soldier runs forward, spear in his hand. He goes to attack Catra, who pulls out her sword and punches the other man in the stomach with the hilt without fully unsheathing her sword. She grinned, smirking all the while as she decimated him, anticipating his attacks and defeating him quickly, snapping his wrist when he tried to punch her. Catra re-sheathes her sword while the man slides backward and runs away, panting heavily in fear and pain.

A second Earth Kingdom soldier groans and runs to attack Catra with his spear this time. Catra punches the spear upward to move it out of the way, grabs onto the man's forehead, and shoves him to the ground. For added measure, Catra stepped onto his head and stomped hard, breaking the cartilage in the man’s nose. The man got up slowly, tears streaming down his face with blood and flees as well.

A third Earth Kingdom soldier charges toward Catra with another spear. Catra sighed, “Another spear?” 

Exasperated, Catra stood there.

_The element of Earth requires someone with patience. They are enduring and stubborn. They also know when to act and when not to act. You need to wait, Wildcat._

Waiting, until the spear and man was close enough for Catra to see the white of his eyes. Then she kicked the spear right in the middle, snapping it cleanly in half. The spearhead, along with half of the spear, goes flying in the other direction. The soldier gasped and Catra used his hesitation to grab his arms and swing him towards Gow. With a practised heave, Catra let go and the soldier crashed into Gow.

Bee laughs in satisfaction and Catra smirks at the crowd that has gathered.

Catra sheathed her sword to give her a trick up her sleeve later. 

“Argh!” Gow shouted, patience was not his strong suit as he charged forward sliding into an Earthbending position. With the last of his cronies gone, Gow was left on his own. The other soldier that Gow had thrown into him rose too and assumed an earthbending stance.

Catra recognised it as the horse stance. With two legs spread out, bent and sunk into the ground. Catra shifted her stance so that her steps were lighter so that it would be easier to dodge. Her eyes narrowed as she bristled with anticipation.

He stepped up to the plate to fight Catra, dual hammers against dual swords. They drew their weapons, and Gow threw the first blow. He had earthbent a rock and powerfully thrust it over to Catra. Catra ducks it readily with her body as she sprinted towards Gow again, slashing her swords through Gow’s hammer, rendering it useless. 

Gow struck, this time with three large rocks instead of one. He sends them over in rapid succession to Catra. With ease, Catra jumped and used the rocks to propel towards Gow, her dual swords ready to slash. However, the third rock hit her in the stomach and she stumbled backward.

Gow, panting in exhaustion smirks at the blow, “Ha! Give up now.”

But Catra has never listened to anyone in her life. In a flash, with adrenaline pumping through her veins, Catra pounced, swords outstretched from both of her hands as she relentlessly slashed at the Earthbender.

Cheers from the crowd goaded her on. Hollers of “Give him a left!” or “Sock him hard!” flooded her sense and she smirked, her chi tensing up on instinct as tiny sparks flew from her hands and through the metal blade.

Rage and righteous fury coursed through her body as she let her Yin and Yang crash into each other. The swords bristled with blue electric energy as Catra leapt forward, using her swords to cut and the erratic lightning to destroy the rest of the rocks.

The force behind her blows are increased and Gow nearly trips backward from the push. Fear filled his eyes as a bolt of lightning struck him. Writhing on the floor in pain, Gow looked up at Catra pathetically, “Who-Who are you?”

Catra smirked, “I’m Catra.” She then leaned down, Gow winced and flinched but she only took the steel dagger back. Turning around, one of the people from the crowd yelled.

“It’s her! The Wildcat!” A villager yowled, “She’s the one who defeated the Water Tribes in three days.”

All the villagers gasped, their kind looks turning into those of anger and fury. Catra sighed and stepped towards Sweet Bee, but was intercepted by Bee’s mother protectively standing before Sweet Bee and Catra. 

“Not a step closer.”

Catra paused, kneeling down in front of Bee’s mother and offering her the steel dagger. “Here, it’s yours. You should have it.”

Sweet Bee peeked up from behind her mother, “No!” the kid yelled and Catra could feel her heart break again. The old stinging pain tore through her chest and she stared.

“I hate you!”

_The Avatar. Cold eyes stared her down like she was nothing. That’s because in the eyes of the Avatar, she is nothing. The master of all four elements, aligned by birth with the spirit world and beyond. The bridge to connect the mortal and spiritual planes destined to save the world. A legend. But the Avatar wasn’t just a legend. She was also simply Adora. So that meant…_

_That Adora didn’t want anything to do with her._

_A back turned on her for the first time and that aching feeling in her heart threatened to tear her apart even as another person lifted her up. This was betrayal._

_A back turned on her as Adora left with her new friends, never once looking back. Feeling accomplished because she gave her a chance to join her, but Catra would never turn her back on Lonnie, Kyle, and Rogelio... On the other people back at the only home she had that depended on her._

_Not even a back turned as Shadow Weaver floated out of the jail cell. Simply just disappearing with a smug voice over her. Hunter turned to prey._

_A child saying that she hated her. The same child she had fought for._

Catra rode away from the village that hated her, away from the villagers with pitchforks. A fire burned in her soul as she wondered what she did wrong. 

_Where are you going?_

She couldn’t be a ‘hero’.

_Where are you going?_

She had to prove herself to Hordak.

_Where are you going?_

Ba Sing Se. To conquer.

_Who are you?_

Commander Catra. With something to prove.

_Who are you?_

Catra. With nothing to lose.

**Author's Note:**

> I typed this all up today and I'm very proud of this.  
> Of course, the Zuko-Catra parallel has been roaming my mind for months but I really don't have the time to start the tale from the beginning, so I went straight for the juicy bits.
> 
> Thanks for reading.


End file.
